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Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Four Little Words

Yesterday didn't go as expected. I had planned to check out RIFT beta yesterday evening but I only ended up in the character creation. I logged in then out to check something before my grand finale. My first attempt went through fine and then logging back in under two minutes later I was hit with an eleven minute queue. Nice...

The reason I didn't get to play is that my [@#$(% &@ %$*^] video card went out and I wasn't about to play anything with the on-board. It will crash and I'm not going to stress my machine just to play beta an extra day. This morning I'll have to go out and pick up a new card. The last one wasn't too old, under a year. *Grumbles*...

Since I can't talk about RIFT until tomorrow, I thought I'd write about something else that crossed my mind. Taking things too seriously. It seems a lot of players have been bored lately. I've even seen some people do an about face with some games. If we say our feelings, sometimes we are taken too seriously, when we just need to get things off our chests.

I may write about what caused me to stop playing a game or why I leave but that's part of blogging, sharing thoughts and ideas. If I candy coated things I wouldn't be honest in my postings. I do try to stick to my guns when I say something and I try not to bite off more than I can chew. I always like to say... NEVER SAY NEVER! Anyhow, I'm getting off course here.

Ever hear someone say those four little [annoying] words? 'It's just a game!' Which is always followed by 'Don't take it so seriously!' I sure have. I think we forget this sometimes, to a point. I don't like to think we should act like our actions don't matter, that's not the point I want to convey, more on the lines of: It's how serious we take things, beyond having fun anymore.

While we invest a lot of time in our hobbies, games and so on it's still something we do take seriously If you didn't why do you care if you show up for raids on time, why do you care about gearing properly, or maybe why care about our in-game reputations. Because it's something we do take seriously, to a point. And you should when other people are involved.

However, sometimes we take things too seriously. Playing games when we're way, way past burnt out. I try not to anymore. I feel bad when leaving friends in a game but sometimes we all just need a breather. Just because I disagree with WoW's new direction with mini raids heroics doesn't mean I hate it and will never go back. I just have other things I'd rather do currently. So, for me, it's good to just take a break and come back when I have more of an interest.

There are players out there who have only played one MMO game and will stick to it until then end or until they finally burn out. Never thinking to check out other avenues. Not wanting to leave friends or a character they worked so hard on. Sometimes I envy these players but it's just not me [never going beyond one game], I stuck to one game and only one game for FIVE years, I've been there done that. Maybe they truly enjoy it, I don't know. I have a friend that keep playing alts just to have something to do. Eight 80's through WoTLK. They still complain about being bored or hating working on things such as the Loremaster title. Hello! Ever think of trying a different MMO?

I suppose not every MMO player is as resilient as me. My husband is on a tight wire between playing and quitting sometimes. I bounce from game to game while he, at times, feels he doesn't have enough time to keep up with a MMO and get things done within it, I always tell him to just have fun with it. I'm not saying it's stupid to just focus on one MMO, I love that idea, it's the idea of shunning anything and everything else.

He plays a lot of free video poker- *snore fest*- but it keeps him happy. I suppose he is one of those people that likes the tried and true and will stick to it until he's ready to just quit. Though I sometimes wonder why he still plays poker when he ends up screaming at the screen. I've had to uninstall it off his phone because he's gotten so mad. I find myself saying those three words... 'It's Just a game'... I think this describes a lot of gamers, at some point, they keep playing until they want to explode. Before it gets to that point I try to drag him off to something else. Hey, I need someone to play my MMO games with!

I suppose sometimes we need to think about why we are playing what we play. Is it for fun? Is it for my friends? Is it to prove that X game is just that great? Is it for you? Are we taking our hobbies too seriously? I think sometimes we do. Laugh at me with my housing, my fluff, my silly little meaningless things that keep me happy in my MMO games, but hey, I'm happy doing what I do ;)

7 comments:

I feel somewhat included in that post ;) I'm the champion of about face and changing ideas for no particular reason of for a good reason or for a less good one.

I don't try to reason with it or understand it. That's the way I am. I have to follow whatever shiny thing grabbed my attention. When I get an idea I have to follow it through. Like going back to WoW right after quitting it.

I try to take something out of each experience though. That's why I want to keep both Lotro and WoW at the same time, I want to spread out a bit more and not focus on a single game to avoid burnout.

Nah, I've seen far worse lately hehe. Saw someone post a goodbye to a game, stating they were quitting for good but then playing it merely weeks later. Nothing changed that they complained about, they just didn't think it through IMO.

If you're having fun doing what you're doing then that's all that matters!

Ouch, I heard about the problems you were experiencing with Rift, least of all your video card. The server queues and lag are really annoying, but it's to be expected, I guess, seeing as 25 keys were sent out with every newsletter apparently. How's that for stress testing, eh? haha

This is what I liked about EQ2. If you wanted to quest, you quested. If you wanted to craft, you crafted. If you wanted to rearrange your house, you did that. The more I play WoW the more I realize the great thing EQ2 has going for it. I guess I just got burned out from it for a while. I hit level 60 and things slowed down and turned into quite a grind.

Any game that has multiple avenues of play has an inherent edge compared to ones in which you can really only do one thing.

@ MMOGC- Got a new card popped in and the game ran great. Servers seemed pretty stable and it was all around a fun time! I guess I just had a rough start ;)

@ Pid- I have been missing those things from EQ2 lately too. Around 60 things do slow down a bit. I just made a newer character awhile back and sort of needed a break from leveling again! I may log in more this week for a fluff fix heh.

I agree 100% about multiple avenues of play, that's a very important component in MMO games for me.